FLORA

The great floral diversity of the Calblanque Regional Park, its different environments and its climatic characteristics make this area a real botanical jewel.

This natural area has species that are exclusive to the southeast of the peninsula and important Ibero-African species such as the Cartagena cypress or the Cartagena rockrose, the latter of which is listed as endangered at national and regional level. Coastal scrubland adapted to aridity alternates with dense Aleppo pine forests. The mobile maritime dunes are very fragile and unstable environments, with species such as sea asparagus, sea lily, sea hornwort and sea holly. On rocky cliffs we find plants that grow in cracks and crevices, coping with the scarcity of soil and water and the constant scourge of the sea. The sea fennel and the sea daisy are some of the species that live in these environments.

FAUNA

The fauna is very diverse in this protected area. The Rasall salt flats provide shelter and food for numerous aquatic birds such as egrets, stilts, avocets, kentish plovers and Audouin's gulls, among others. The fartet, a fish endemic to the southeast Iberian Peninsula that is in danger of extinction, is particularly important in the salt marshes.

Other important species that inhabit this area are the peregrine falcon, the eagle owl and the Bonelli's eagle. There are also mammals such as the badger and the marten and reptiles such as the Iberian skink, the bastard snake and the Betic lizard.

USES

The rich combination of natural and cultural elements make this Regional Park a privileged landscape, enriched by the presence of human beings since ancient times. Various archaeological remains have been found in the Regional Park, from Neolithic to Roman times, crops, traditional buildings and salt mines. Witnesses of past mining activity are the shafts, derricks and smelting furnaces that dot the landscape. The military batteries of Las Cenizas and La Chapa evoke the strategic interest of the area for defence.

FACILITIES

The Las Cobaticas Visitor Centre is located in the Regional Park, where visitors can request informative material and learn about the values of the environment through the exhibition room and the video documentary of the Regional Park. Visitors also have interpretative signs at their disposal on the signposted trails, the bird observatories and the viewpoints.